Stephen Robinson urged his players to reach the William Hill Scottish Cup final for Carl McHugh after the Motherwell skipper sealed a return to Hampden with a glorious volley.

The midfielder chested down a Hearts clearance before letting fly with his weaker, right foot into the top corner from almost 25 yards in the 86th minute of a thrilling quarter-final.

The goal secured a 2-1 victory for the Betfred Cup runners up but McHugh will miss the semi-final - against the winner of the replay between Aberdeen and Kilmarnock - after being booked in the first half for a foul on Harry Cochrane, his second yellow card of the tournament.

When asked if he could have foreseen the finish, Robinson said: "On Carl's right foot? No. Listen, he was excellent and he has been recently.

"He maybe doesn't get the plaudits he deserves but the job he does in front of our back four, the headers and tackles and the organisation he gives us, is excellent. I think he got his just rewards.

"Unfortunately he misses the semi, he's been booked, which is a travesty for the boy. So we have to make sure we get to that final and give him his just rewards."

Curtis Main got the final touch to a soft early opener after Ross Callachan allowed Craig Tanner's corner to go past his position at the near post.

But Kyle Lafferty levelled from the spot six minutes after the break before hitting the post and forcing a brilliant save from Trevor Carson.

Hearts manager Craig Levein felt his side were well worth a replay and argued that they should have had a second spot-kick after a late handball by Andy Rose.